Flames
by Spooky-Girl
Summary: A small apartment fire takes a turn for the worse, trapping Jimmy and a victim in an unstable deathtrap. Gas, oh no, what will happen!? read to find out. :P
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This is my first TW story, but not my first fic. It's rushed, so it may not be too good. I can deal with that, for now, if you can. Review lots! I'm a junkie! If you like and if you tell me to, I'll continue…actually, even if you don't like it, I'll probably still post more. Hehe. I need 5 reviews to do so, though…so review! Ahem…have I said that enough?   
Thanks to   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The sun was shining brightly in the sky. That seemed wrong somehow. Maybe because it was a little under forty degrees and dark clouds lined the grey sky. It was like one of those "What's Wrong With This Picture?" features in children's magazines. It bothered Phillip Yoketo to no ends. A sunny day was to be sunny. A cold day to be dreary and overcast. Or at least not to have the sun shining as if it were summer!   
  
Grumbling under his breath Phillip pulled his tan jacket further around his wiry frame and walked from the alleyway and into the stream of people that was making its way along the sidewalk. He held his jacket shut with arms folded across his chest, looking from person to person in true, but subtle, paranoid style.  
  
As he walked away from the alley a slow grin spread across his pale face. He had to bite back a laugh as he darted between the throng of people, gone before anyone could notice his presence.  
  
Not half a minute later, almost a block away a building burst into flames with a low rumble, spreading debris through the air.   
  
Scream echoed through the streets.  
  
  
  
"This is bad," Faith Yokas said needlessly, wiping her dirty hands on her uniform pants.   
  
"Really?" Bosco said sarcastically, looking at the smoldering wreck of a building. He knew, though, that Faith had said that only because the sight had left her pretty much speechless.  
  
There was extensive damage to the site. The building in the middle, where the explosion had occurred, was only a pile of rocks now, the foundation the only thing left halfway standing. The two buildings beside it were on fire, chunks of them lying amongst the other rubble. Fires burned in the debris here and there, and the streets were a mess. Cars were half buried beneath the rubble.   
  
Firefighters crawled inside, and out, hoses spraying water, searching for survivors, doing what firefighters do best. Cops did crowd control, but since not many people wanted close to the unstable area, they could stand by and watch unhindered. The paramedics, sometimes aided by cops or firefighters, treated the injured and bagged the dead.   
  
Bosco thought to himself how much it reminded him of the 9-11 and wondered if any others felt that too. He sighed and said, "Yeah, Faith, this is bad."  
  
"I wonder what caused it," she mused, staring at the scene in front of her.  
  
She saw Jimmy walking from the doorway of the building to the right, where the fire had just about been snuffed. "Hey, Jimmy!"  
  
He turned her way at the sound of her voice, removed his helmet and strode over, breathing hard. He looked rushed. "Yeah?"  
  
"Any idea what caused the fire?" she asked, eyeing his sooty face.  
  
He exhaled loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Not yet. Look, I gotta go. I'll let you know if I find anything out, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," she nodded, watching him run back towards the Chief.   
  
"What, he's not in a good mood?" Bosco said, still watching the flames with an odd interest.   
  
"Quiet in the peanut gallery," Faith said, swatting at him.   
  
He smirked at her, and yelled to an unseen man to stay behind the yellow tape, hoping this would end soon. He was tired and he was sick of watching people gawk.   
  
  
  
Jimmy peered through his mask at the smoky hallway. Orange and red glow danced on the scorched black walls of the apartment, playing with his vision.  
  
He lifted his mask off of his face, wincing as his eyes began to water. Coughing as he inhaled the smoke he called out, "Hello? Anyone in here?"  
  
He knew the building had been cleared, all but the top floor, the fourth, where he was now searching room by room.   
  
"Hello!" he called again, wiping at his eyes with a gloved hand, smearing black soot across his face. "Is anyone here?"  
  
An answering cry came from somewhere in front of him, muffled by a wall or two. A small voice crying out for help.  
  
Hand on one wall, eyes alert, he pushed forward.  
  
  
  
"How's he doing?" a sobbing woman asked Kim, clinging to her arm. "Will my Marty be all alright?"  
  
Kim gently pushed the woman's arm from hers. "Marty is going to be fine. He's a little winded, but he'll be fine. Can you tell me what happened?"  
  
"I was just making tea," she sniffled. "And all of a sudden all the alarms went off. It was that blasted man down the hall! I know it! Him and his cigars! Marty told him not to smoke in that fire trap he calls a home!"  
  
A bit taken aback at the stony tone the woman took on, Kim patted her arm. "So, the man was smoking…and?"  
  
"He's so irresponsible!" the woman fumed. "He'll toss the butt right down! Even if his floor's covered in paper! Damned man almost cost my Marty his life!"  
  
Kim nodded with a little smile, cringing inside. What a weird lady. "You were making tea…did you shut the burners off before you left the apartment?"  
  
Interrupted in the middle of her rant she was caught off guard. "Why…no. I was too busy getting out of the building."  
  
Gas, Kim thought. Gas!  
  
She left the woman behind, running to the fire Chief. "There's gas on in there!"  
  
The Chief looked alarmed, spoke into his radio. "Doherty, Sheldon, get out of there ASAP, we have an open gas line! Repeat, get your asses out here now!"  
  
  
  
Jimmy heard the call through his radio through a crackle of static and groaned in frustration. Great, gas and fire are the perfect mix.   
  
He kicked in a locked door, peering through the haze with his stinging eyes. "Anyone here?"  
  
"Help me," replied a sobbing woman who was kneeling in her full tub. "Please, help me!"  
  
"Can you walk?" he asked, kneeling by her and letting her take a breath from his mask.  
  
She shook her head, sobbing too hard to answer.   
  
He picked her up in his arms, water running down the both of them, and spoke into his radio. "Chief, I've got a woman in here, she's alive. I'm coming out."  
  
He tightened his grip around the woman and stumbled out of the bathroom into the hallway.   
  
"Oh, shit," he swore as a wall of flame met his eyes. Flaming rafters had fallen, blocking his path in the hall. His way out.   
  
"Chief," he spoke in a rushed voice. "My way out's blocked. I need a ladder at the fourth floor now!  
  
Without waiting for a reply, he rushed to the nearest window. He stood the woman up. "Ma'am, what's you name?"  
  
"C-Clara," she said, hyperventilating.  
  
"Okay, Clara, I need you to calm down," he said, grabbing her shoulders. "I need you to breathe. We're gonna climb down the ladder, okay?"  
  
She nodded, still gasping, her body shaking uncontrollably.   
  
"Clara, you need to calm down," he told her. "Can you do that?"  
  
She tried to nod, but began gasping loudly, unable to breathe in her fit of fear. She grabbed at Jimmy's jacket and with wild eyes began to claw. "Help me!!"  
  
He swore as her nails grazed his face and grabbed her arms. "Calm down! Clara, stop it!"  
  
She screamed at the top of her lungs and in an instant all hell broke loose.   
  
He heard the explosion before he felt it, and his eyes grew wide as he clutched Clara. "Oh, Jesus." 


	2. 2

A/N: Big thanks Fridgey who helped answer the question, "How many feet is a four story building?" and to my mommy who helped me with the question, "What would happen if a guy fell out of a window and down about 48 feet?" And to both of them…yes, I am evil. :D Again, five reviews will get another chapter…but I want more than that, because I'm greedy. Help me heat my home! Reviews are fuel to the fire!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A wall of scorching heat slammed into Jimmy and he tightened his arms around Clara, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt himself being thrown forward and a scream rose but caught in his tightened throat. Clara stiffened against him, her own scream loud and piercing in his ear.   
  
I'm going to die, he thought with horrifying conviction. This is finally it. I'm dead.  
  
The calmness that came with this thought scared him more than the fact that in another few seconds he would be dead on the ground that was what, 48 feet down? Oh, sure, he had a slim chance of surviving. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd live. But even then it wouldn't be a pretty sight. Paralysis, brain damage, hell, there was a list a mile long of possibilities.   
  
Kim, he thought. Joey. I might never get a chance--  
  
And then he was flying through a thick pane of glass, the shards stabbing into his skin. He felt the flames lick his skin, smelled the acrid scent of burnt flesh and finally screamed in a mixture of pain and sheer terror.   
  
In his last seconds of coherent thought he twisted his body and positioned Clara in hopes that when they hit bottom he would absorb most of the impact. There was still the chance that she might live and recover, and his training told him to do what he could to ensure that she had every chance.  
  
And then he hit the pavement with such force that all he knew was a second's worth of blinding pain from beneath and above, and then only blissful darkness.  
  
  
  
Standing on the street below, the onlookers heard a terrible rumble and flames shot higher into the air, exploding windows and sending a spray of glass onto the street.   
  
Bosco and Faith, still doing their job, ushered people back, while Alex, Doc, and Carlos rushed to make sure no one had been injured. The firefighters stood in shock at the pulsating flames.   
  
And Kim screamed in anguish as the body of her ex-husband, the father of her son, flew through the window with a horrifying scream, still holding fast to his victim, and crashed to a stop feet in front of her.  
  
Screaming hysterically but still alive, Clara rolled limply off of Jimmy and managed to crawl a foot or so away before collapsing to the pavement on her stomach. Her screaming subsided into cries, then into whimpers as Alex and Carlos moved in to help her.  
  
Doc was kneeling by Jimmy's side and Kim dropped to her knees beside him, crying herself as she assessed his injuries.   
  
Jimmy's face was soot smeared and flecked with small cuts sporadically. He was bleeding heavily from a gash above his right eye, from his nose, and a small trickle of blood ran from one corner of his mouth. Already a dark bruise was forming, taking up most of the right side of his face.   
  
Doc was busily, but gently unbuttoning Jimmy's jacket and cutting away at his shirt. His bare chest was one mass of purple, black, and blue contusions, against severely pale skin.  
  
"Kim!" she heard Doc yelling, breaking her from her reverie. "Kim, I need you to take his vitals!"  
  
She shook her head to clear it and moved in to take his pulse. "Pulse is weak, thready. Breathing shallow, labored. We need to get O2 and a collar now!"  
  
Another paramedic, one Kim didn't bother to identify, appeared with the oxygen mask, C-collar and tank and an IV which Doc had ordered. She took the collar from him and carefully secures Jimmy's neck, then went for the oxygen mask, gently securing the strap and covering his mouth and nose. "Let's get a backboard over here!"  
  
When the nameless medic again appeared with the equipment, they gently rolled him onto the board, lifted him onto the stretcher, and loaded him into the back of the bus, securing the wheeled stretcher into place.   
  
"Kim, I need you to drive so I can work on him," Doc said.   
  
Shaking her head, Kim climbed into the front of the bus, hesitant to take her eyes off them.  
  
She drove as fast as she dared, sirens blaring to the waiting hospital.  
  
Doctors met the ambulances at the doors to the ER, rushing the stretchers inside, hurrying away with her ex husband.   
  
Shoulders shaking with sobs, Kim tried to follow, only to be held back by Alex's firm grip.   
  
"Let them do their job," she said softly. "We'll only get in their way."  
  
Kim nodded, wiping at her face. "Yeah."  
  
"Let's go wait over here," Alex said pulling her into the waiting room and directing her to a set of hard plastic chairs.   
  
Kim buried her head in her hands, propping her elbows on her knees, and cried. 


	3. 3

A/N: Thanks to my mommy again, for the medical stuff. This is harder than it looks! :P Again, another five or more reviews and ya get some more Jimmy-goodness! Muahaha!   
Also, anybody have any suggestions? I'm not out of ideas yet, but I'm writing this as I go along, and have no real plans for the next part. So, anyone wanna see anything? If I like the idea, I might just incorporate it in! Enjoy!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kim found it amazing how, sitting in a hard chair alone in the silence the hospital that night, she had so much time to think. To think of what had gone wrong in her marriage, and what had gone right. To think of the things Jimmy had done for and with her and Joey. To replay the scene as his body crashed out of that window and landed broken so far below. She had hours to muse about what had gone wrong in their marriage, what they might have done differently.   
  
She sighed and glanced at the clock, glanced at her watch to confirm that 3:00 was the correct time, then shifted positions, unable to keep still.  
  
She had sent Joey to stay at her mother's for the night, called off of work for the next day, and made arrangements for her son to be picked up after school the next day. Now all there was to do was wait.   
  
It was killing her.  
  
Minutes after his arrival at the ER Jimmy had flat lined. The doctors managed to revive him using the defibrillator, but it had given everyone a scare they would not soon forget. He had since been moved into surgery where he'd been for the past few hours. She was comforted only slightly by the saying that lengthy surgeries were hopeful, that it was the short ones that required extensive worry.  
  
She checked her watch again to see that only five minutes had passed.   
  
She ran her hands through her hair and gathered it into a sloppy ponytail, sighing for the umpteenth time.   
  
The sound of the waiting room doors swishing open startled her; she jerked her head up to see Dr. Bailey walking briskly towards her, clipboard in hands.   
  
"Doctor," she acknowledged hurriedly, standing to greet him. "How's Jimmy?"  
  
"Why don't we sit down?"   
  
That can never be good, Kim thought, but sat anyway. "Well?"  
  
"Well, Ms. Zambrano," Bailey said, glancing at his clipboard. "In some ways he was very lucky."  
  
"What ways?" she interjected quickly.  
  
"Well, for starters, he's alive," Bailey said frankly. "And because he was wearing his helmet he managed to avoid fracturing his skull. As it is there is some major swelling to the brain and a large contusion on the base of his skull. Brain damage is a definite possibility--"  
  
Kim's heart sank.  
  
"--but we won't know for sure until he wakes up. He came through surgery without major complication, but he's slipped into a coma. It may last for the night, maybe longer. But he is alive and there is brain activity. Because of the nature of the fall there are other, just as serious injuries. He sustained fractures to his collar bone, the radius and ulna in his left arm as well as most of his ribs. One of the ribs punctured his lung, but we've got it functioning at almost half it's normal level. He fractured several vertebrae in his back, but until the swelling subsides we won't know the severity of the impairment. Both his legs were broken, but surprisingly the damage is not as serious as it could have been. Both his left shoulder and hip were dislocated, but we've got them back in place. Depending on the nature of damage to his back, it's likely that in time he will be able to walk again. If he wakes up, and Kim, we've got to admit that that is a possibility."  
  
Kim was shocked into silence, letting it all sink in. Finally, brushing back tears, she managed to choke out, "Can I…can I see him?"  
  
"Not tonight, I'm afraid," Bailey said. "If he's still stable come tomorrow we will let immediate family visit."  
  
"I'm his--I was his wife. I need to see him," Kim said shakily.  
  
Bailey nodded, excuse himself, and left Kim alone again with her thoughts.  
  
  
  
The next morning Kim awoke with a stiff neck in the rapidly filling waiting room. After freshening up as much as she could in the bathroom and grabbing a coffee from the machine, she sought out Dr. Bailey.  
  
He gave her the okay to visit Jimmy, after making sure she understood that it could only be for a few minutes.  
  
She took a deep breath and pushed the heavy ICU door open, letting it swing shut behind her.  
  
Jimmy lay prone on the bed swathed in miles of white gauze and plaster. He was attached to a cardiac monitor that send continuous data to the nurse's station down the hall. An IV holding what Kim thought must be antibiotics and glucose dripped steadily into a tube that was firmly taped to his right hand. A tube was inserted into his throat and taped to his mouth to assist in his breathing.  
  
She stepped closer, and hit her lip at the sight of him.  
  
His skin was bone white, and his face slack. There were dark blue circles underneath his sunken eyes, which were taped shut to prevent them from staring openly at the wall, which not only would have freaked visitors out, but would dry out his eyes. His lips were ashen, tinged with blue, telling her that despite the oxygen tube, his lungs were still not providing the right amount of oxygen. He seemed so small, so frail beneath the light blue cotton cover. So not like himself. Jimmy was strong, cocky, alive! This man looked like death warmed over.  
  
She pulled the seat by the bed closer, wanting desperately to take his hand but afraid of jarring the IV.   
  
"Hey, Jimmy," she said finally, shattering the unnerving silence of the room. "I...uh, I don't know if you can hear me, but some people say that people in comas can, and--" she laughed dryly. "Here I am rambling on and I'm not even sure you can hear this."  
  
She gently, hesitantly moved her hand near his, afraid still to touch the pale skin.   
  
"You're a hero, you know. That woman? She's alive. She's in better shape than you, but she's not out of the woods yet. I think she's gonna be fine, though. Thanks to you."  
  
She stared at the heart monitor for a second.  
  
"Joey's with Mom. I think he's gonna spend the weekend there. I know he wants to see you, but I'm afraid he might get scared. He still doesn't totally understand what's going on. And truth is, I'm not sure you'd want him to see you like this. You and your damn pride."   
  
Another dry laugh. This one quickly turned into a sob.  
  
"Jimmy, please! You have to come out of this. I don't know what I'll do if you don't. I can't," she paused, choked up. "I don't think I can do this without you, Jimmy. I love you, Jimmy."  
  
A soft rap on the door caught her attention.  
  
Dr. Bailey opened the door and said softly. "I'm afraid you'll need to go now. He needs the rest. You can come back tomorrow."  
  
Kim nodded, feeling like a fool as she wiped her red, puffy eyes.   
  
Touching his hand briefly, she whispered, "I'll come back, Jimmy. You just make sure you get better." 


	4. 4

A/N: I don't have the time or patience to write about the three weeks I'm skipping, so I'm…well, skipping ahead to three weeks. :P I know my chapters are short, but keep in mind I'm writing this as I go, so it's hard to get big long chapters when writing on spur of the moment-ness. I wish I could make them longer, and I'll try to in the future. It seemed like a good place to leave this one off at, so I did. R&R for more, and enjoy!! Oh…and excuse the note that says it needs more sex. That's my brother and he seems to not get the whole coma thing. :-P Lurve ya, Raines!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Visitors came and went, days turned into weeks, and Jimmy still did not awake. Dr. Bailey had been forced to begin feeding liquid nourishment into Jimmy's system via a tube in his nose. His condition had been moved from critical to stable, but he was still under constant observation. Bruises began to fade to lighter colors and cuts began to scab over, the healing process in action. Bones slowly began to knit themselves together again. But still, Jimmy did not awaken.  
  
After three weeks Bailey cornered Kim in the waiting room where she was sharing a cup of Styrofoam flavored coffee with her mom. He took her aside, out of the range of everyone's hearing.   
  
"Kim, I've been meaning to talk to you about Jimmy's condition," he started out. "As I'm sure you know, it's been three weeks and he's not shown any sign of waking up. Aside from the obvious physical healing, he's not been showing much improvement. There are still signs of brain activity, however they have not seemed to increase. We need to discuss the possibility that he may not come out of this coma. So you have two standard choices."  
  
She waved her hand as he started to explain. "I am well aware of my choices, Doctor. I can continue to pay for his stay in the hospital, or I can yank the plug and kill the father of my son. Hmm, let me think a moment."  
  
Dr. Bailey was a bit taken aback by her response. "Kim, you realize that protocol insists I go over the choices with you, right? I'm not suggesting anything."  
  
Kim cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed at her irritation. "Yeah, I get it. Sorry, I'm just a little testy lately. I'm not ready to give up on Jimmy yet, Doctor. I know that for sure. He's strong, he's stubborn. In my book, he's got more chance of waking up than staying comatose, despite what the readings tell you."  
  
Bailey nodded, smiled, and excused himself a bit hurriedly, saying he had patients to check on.   
  
Kim tossed her now cold coffee in the nearest trash can and headed back to her mom. "Mom, I'm going to go sit with Jimmy for a while, okay?"  
  
Mrs. Zambrano smiled an nodded. "It's almost time for me to pick Joey up anyway. Would you like me to maybe bring him by after dinner, or…?"  
  
Kim frowned. "No…he's too young to visit, and unless Jimmy wakes up I don't think they're going to make an exception. I'll stop by around six and pick him up. He's already spent enough time there. I'm afraid he's going to feel abandoned if I don't spend some time with him."  
  
Her mom laughed. "Don't be silly! He loves spending time with me too much to feel that. Although I do suggest taking him for ice cream. Maybe to see that new movie he's had his eye on? Cheered you right up when you were young."  
  
Kim smiled at her wink and nodded. "Right. Seven. Ice cream and a movie. You tell him to be ready."  
  
"Right," Mrs. Zambrano said, standing up and holding out her arms. "You take care, hon."  
  
"I will, Mom," Kim said, accepting the hug. "Bye."  
  
She watched her mom leave before turning down the hall that lead to Jimmy's private room.   
  
She sat down in the same hard chair and took his hand in hers, minding the IV. "Hey, Jimmy."  
  
She'd taken to talking to him more and more as the weeks passed, even though she wasn't sure if he could hear her. For all she knew she was crazy to sit there for hours, talking to herself.  
  
"Mom suggested I take Joey out for ice cream and a movie tonight. He's been wanting to see one of those violent, car-chase things you've got him hooked on," she started. "So I'm gonna do that. It'll be good to spend some time with him. And as soon as you wake up, I'm gonna find a way to get him in here, even if I have to bake him in a cake and sneak him in. I know he misses you like hell, but he's trying to be tough. It'd make you proud. He's been real good about not crying, even though I told him it was okay. You're his hero, but you already know that, I guess."  
  
A low guttural sound, hallway between a grunt and a groan caught her off guard; she stared at him in shocked silence for a moment. "Jimmy?"  
  
He was silent, still laying in the bed unmoving, but she could swear the noise had come from him. She was sure of it.  
  
She gripped his hand a bit harder. "Jimmy?"  
  
His eyes were still behind his lids. No sign that he'd made any sound.  
  
Still, a swell of hope rose in her chest and she leaned in closer. "That's it, Jimmy. Come back to me."  
  
When he made no reply, no sign that he'd heard or began to wake up, she felt hot tears slide down her face and let go of his hand, brushing away her tears and feeling foolish.  
  
Then, the moan came again.  
  
She turned her head sharply. There was no mistaking it. That HAD to have been him.  
  
"Jimmy?" she whispered, suddenly so afraid.   
  
Beneath pale eyelids, beneath the strips of surgical tape, his eyes moved.  
  
"Jimmy?" Her voice was anxious.  
  
As suddenly as the movement began, it ended, and he was still as death again.  
  
Kim shot to her feet and ran into the hall, down to the nurse's station. "Where's Dr. Bailey?"  
  
The startled young woman said, "He's in the lounge. Why? Is everything all right?"  
  
Without answering, Kim ran down to the lounge and shot through the door.   
  
A surprised Doctor Bailey looked up from his coffee.   
  
"He was waking up…at least I think he was waking up. His eyes, they moved, and he was… it sounded like he was trying to talk or something! I don't know, but I think he was waking up!" Kim cried.  
  
Dr. Bailey followed her back to the room, and examined him for a moment. "I'm not detecting any improvement, but it IS a possibility. We'll monitor him more closely the next few days and see what's what. Okay?"  
  
Kim nodded, and when he left, felt a huge grin slide across her face. She didn't care what Bailey said. Jimmy was going to wake up, and soon. She knew it. She felt it. 


	5. 5

A/N: Well, this has been rather slow in the making, eh? :P All right, five more reviews, people! Come on, review me! *whine* I'm going to try to make the parts longer after this. I've always hated writing really short chapters, but to be all cliffhanger-y, it seemed like a good idea….yeah. Anyway, thanks again to my mom, and to all ya readers out there. Enjoy this next part!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kim waved to Joey as he ran up the stairs of his private school, backpack bouncing wildly on his scrawny frame. After watching to make sure he'd made it safely through the front doors she drove off in the direction of the hospital. As she turned right down a busy street, she was suddenly glad it was her day off. Mainly because she hoped Jimmy might wake up…but also because the city was a zoo. She'd already nearly been hit twice, and she'd only been driving for half an hour.  
  
She parked in back of the hospital and rushed to the elevator, catching it before the doors shut. She squeezed beside a gurney and hit "6". When the elevator doors opened she squeezed back out and took a deep breath of the overly sterile, but cool air.  
  
She gathered her hair back in a ponytail and headed into Jimmy's air-conditioned room, plopping down in that damn chair. It seemed custom made to fit only people with exceptionally small asses.   
  
Sighing, Kim picked up a magazine from the table and began flipping through the worn pages, reading tired words and boring columns that meant nothing to her.  
  
A noise so faint it was almost lost in the hiss of the oxygen and the beep of the heart monitor caught her attention. In an instant she had the magazine down on her knee so hard it slid off and fell to the floor, pages bent this way and that. An ad insert fluttered across the polished floor.   
  
She knelt next to his bed, reaching through the metal rail to take his hand. "Jimmy? I'm here."  
  
To her surprise and delight, his hand tightened ever so slightly around hers.  
  
"Jimmy?" A tear fell from her eye. She cursed herself, knowing it wasn't a time to cry. Tentatively she reached her free hand up, ever so gently removing the strips of surgical tape from his closed eyes.   
  
Almost as soon as she had, he peered at her from half lidded eyes. His lips worked around the tube in his mouth, and he made a face, half confusion, half discomfort.   
  
"The doctors, they had to put a tube down your throat to help you breathe. It's probably uncomfortable, but it needed to be there. I'm going to go get Dr. bailey and we can see about getting it out, okay?" she asked, standing up but reluctant to let go of his hand.   
  
She once again had to disturb the doctor in the lounge, but he was pleased when she told him that Jimmy had woken up.   
  
He took Jimmy's vitals, and finally spoke, "Well, his vitals look good, but to be safe I think we need to keep him on an O2 feed. However, I believe now that he's awake, we can do so through other means. So, if you'll cooperate, Mr. Doherty, we'll have this out in a jiffy. All right?"  
  
An ever so small nod from him.  
  
Dr. Bailey left the room and returned a minute or two later with another cart. He stood by Jimmy's side and undid the tap holding the tube in place. "Now, I'm going to ask you to take in a deep breath. When I count to three, blow out. Got it?"  
  
Another barely noticeable nod.   
  
"Okay. Breathe in," Bailey instructed, getting a hold on the small tube. "Good. One, two, three!"  
  
With a grimace, Jimmy exhaled the air in his pain-filled chest.   
  
Kim winced as Bailey pulled the long tube out, and set it down on the cart. After a few seconds, he set up the new feed, gently clipping a bifurcated oxygen tube to his nasal septum.   
  
Jimmy adjusted to this, opening and closing his dry mouth, wincing at his raw, sore throat.   
  
"I'll leave you two now," Bailey said. "If there are any problems, hit the call button and someone will be down immediately."  
  
With a quick smile, he was gone.  
  
"Hey," Kim said softly, her voice shaky, lower lip trembling.  
  
Jimmy opened his mouth to reply, but could form no words, and ended up working his mouth with a confused expression on his pale, bruised face.  
  
"Umm…do you want some ice?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't be allowed water so soon after breaking a coma.   
  
He nodded painfully.  
  
She reached for the cup that Dr. Bailey had so conveniently placed on his bedside table and spooned small cube onto the plastic utensil.   
  
The ice melted a cool trail over his tongue and down his red throat, and Jimmy was almost in heaven at the small oval of frozen water. It seemed silly, but he thought he'd never tasted anything so good.   
  
Kim offered a few more pieces, but held off at five, knowing too much water is a stomach that had been relatively empty for weeks was not a good combination.  
  
Jimmy licked his ashen, chapped lips and wheezed out in a voice so hoarse it was hard to recognize as his own, "Hey."  
  
One word, and not even much of a word, but it tore at Kim's heart and she was in tears.  
  
Looking confused, Jimmy strained, reached up with his IV encumbered hand and wiping at her eyes. She clung tightly to him. He spoke, having to stop to take a breath too often. "Don't…cry…"  
  
She sobbed again, but tried to hold back her tears. "I though I had lost you, Jimmy!"  
  
His brow furrowed. "Right…here…"  
  
She nodded. "I know…Jimmy, do you remember what happened?"  
  
Again a furrowed brow and a frown. He was deep in thought for so long Kim thought maybe he's forgotten to answer. "Jimmy?"  
  
"I remember…fire…" he rasped. "Fire…"  
  
Kim nodded, worried now. But, it was normal for victims of head injuries not to remember the moments before the actual injury, wasn't it? "Well…how do you feel?"  
  
"Never better," he said hoarsely. Already he was getting out of breath. "I hurt…all over."  
  
"That's understandable," Kim said, surveying his patched up body. "You took quite a fall."  
  
"Fall?" he asked softly. "Where…?"  
  
"You don't remember," she said as more of a statement than a question.   
  
With the C-collar on, it was hard for him to nod, not to mention painful, but he did.   
  
"You were on the fourth floor of a burning building, Jimmy," Kim explained. "You found someone trapped in their apartment. You were waiting for the ladder at the window…and there was an open gas line. There was an explosion. You and the woman were knocked out the window."  
  
Without giving any sign that he remembered this, he rolled his eyes towards her. "The woman…is she okay?"  
  
"She's a pretty banged up, but she's fine. The doctor's released her last week. She sends her thanks," Kim assured him with a smile. "You saved her."  
  
A faint smile crossed his lips, but he said nothing else.  
  
There was a moment of silence, and Kim thought he'd fallen asleep when he closed his eyes, but soon he opened them again. "Joey?"  
  
"He's at school," she said. "He's been spending time with my mom while I've been here."  
  
"Thanks," he croaked.  
  
"For what?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.  
  
"For…being here," he answered softly.  
  
"Where else would I be, Jimmy?" she smiled.   
  
"With the way I…treated you…anywhere but here," he said, closing his eyes.  
  
"What?" she asked, caught off guard.  
  
He didn't reply. He had fallen asleep, exhausted.  
  
She stared down at him, smoothing a lock of dark hair off his forehead. "You've got it backwards, Jimmy. I'd rather be here than anywhere else." 


End file.
